Men's Track & Field

Men’s Distance Relay Team Shatters UMD Record

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's distance relay team shattered the program record at the John Thomas Invitational on Friday night at Boston University.

Competing in a field that included all three Divisions, the Corsairs quartet turned in the second fastest time in the Division III (10:05.72) to place fifth overall. Sophomore Ryan Hayes (Kingston, Mass.) led off the opening 1200-meters with a 3:09.1 split, while classmate Brandon Jarousky (Attleboro, Mass.) covered his 400-meters in 49.9 seconds. Freshman Kurt Dreher (Dartmouth, Mass.) ran the third leg (800-meters) in 1:55.7, while senior Zach Switaj (Tamworth, N.H.) anchored the final 1,600-meters in 4:11.1. UMass Dartmouth lowered the previous standard that was set by Eric Nygaard, Gerald Arneaud, Tyler Buck, and Time Whelan in 2009.

The UMass men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed in a non-scoring meet this afternoon at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. The Corsair men captured seven events, while the women stood atop the podium five times.

On the men's side, junior Cody Lusas (Melrose, Mass.) won the 35-pound weight throw with the fourth longest throw in program history (47-3.75). UMass Dartmouth dominated the track events, winning six races. Freshman Chris Cennami (Peabody, Mass.) tripped the timer at 7.14 seconds to win the 60-meter dash, while sophomore Justin Conor (Holden, Mass.) cleared the 60-meter hurdles in 8.93 seconds. Jarousky was the first runner to cross the finish line in the 200-meter dash (23.09), while freshman Paul Hamlet (Upton, Mass.) took home the 400-meter dash (53.39). Junior Jacob Texeira (Seekonk, Mass.) raced past the field in the 600-meter run (1:27.06), while sophomore Brandon Viera (Fairhaven, Mass.) captured the 1,000-meter run (2:07.40).

Freshman Gelynne Berger (Somerville, Mass.) posted the fourth fastest time in UMass Dartmouth history to highlight the Corsairs, winning the 200-meter dash (26.88). Sophomore Michel-Le Meranda (Somerville, Mass.) captured the 400-meter dash in a time of 64.45 seconds, while Freshman Megan Lazaro (Somerset, Mass.) won the 800-meter run (2:39.04). Freshman Reme DiGiovanni (Southborough, Mass.) continued UMD's success in the middle distance events by winning the 1,000-meter race (3:20.80). Senior Krista Chauvin (Seekonk, Mass.) continued her dominance in the weight throw with a winning toss of 51'5 feet.

UMass Dartmouth will return to action on Saturday, February 1, when the Corsairs travel to Springfield College.